Editorial

Chattanooga gets $40K grant for ‘10-Minute Walk’

Chattanooga will receive $40,000 in grant funding from the National Recreation and Park Association as part of its 10-Minute Walk campaign.

The grant funding will be used to support city planning efforts that help increase access to high-quality parks within a 10-minute walk. The 10-Minute Walk campaign is led by NRPA, The Trust for Public Land, and the Urban Land Institute

One of 12 cities selected to receive this grant funding, Chattanooga currently has 36 percent of its people living within a 10-minute walk of a park. As a result, the city is focusing its efforts on infrastructure improvements such as improved sidewalks and bike lanes along with new trails and greenways.

The city will also develop a new Parks and Greenways Master Plan that highlights access and park equity. The grant funding provided by NRPA will help strengthen these efforts and provide access to a variety of tools and resources, including TPL’s Park Serve and Parkology and ULI’s Advisory Services.

“Parks play a critical role in the health and well-being of our communities,” says Andy Berke, Chattanooga mayor. “Chattanooga is proud to be connecting all of our residents to local parks.

“From greenways and playgrounds to hiking and biking trails, Chattanoogans should possess options for activities and community gatherings.”

Launched in 2017, the 10-Minute Walk campaign establishes the ambitious goal that everyone in the United States should live within a 10-minute walk (or half-mile) of a high-quality park or green space.

A bipartisan group of nearly 200 mayors have joined this effort, which calls for major advances in park finance and construction; zoning changes to encourage park development; embedding this goal into city park’s master plans; and the expansion of “joint use” agreements that open school playgrounds, tracks, and gyms for public use after hours and on weekends, among other policies.

Studies show that high-quality parks provide a wide range of benefits to urban residents and cities themselves. These benefits include:

n physical and mental health benefits by providing opportunities to be physically active and to interact with nature;

n economic benefits by boosting business and helping to revitalize neighborhoods;

n community-building benefits by providing opportunities for neighbors to interact with each other and work together to improve their surroundings;